The keep knight

“Are they dead?” Ask Bell with a quiver in her voice. Rihya looked on at the cloud of dust and debris still crumbling before them.

Grig… The knight clutches the bone.

Sssssssss A large plume of gas appears.

Crackle. A pillar breaks in the distance, falling back behind the cloud, but not a sound, its fall was quiet.

“Hm?-” Riyha Questioned Calmly.

Poof, SWOOOSH! Bursting from the cloud like a spear, the massive pillar flies forward at Bell and Rihya.

“Ah-, Bell!!” Shouted Rihya, turning to Bell. TING-TONK!! Rihya blocks the pillar with her shield as she swept off her feet and bashed back into Bell’s cuirass.

SMASH, crumble…. They’re crushed as they’re slammed into a standing pillar behind them. Coff Coff Auac. Rihya coughs as she stumbles out of the rubble, before turning to grab Bell, pulling her to her feet by her upper arm while Bell clutches her bo with both hands, using it as a staff. Her legs shake as she wobbles to her feet. The floor is a fuzzy mess, A fiery sensation fills Bell’s chest, and the sharp taste of iron rushes over her tongue.

Aucc! Bell coughs up a splash of blood.

Wu-BLEGHH! Bell hurls up a brown and green sludge soaked in spit. There’s a massive dent in her cuirass, she hunches forward.

Oh no. Thought Rihya with a quiver in her voice. She embraces Bell as she leans forward.

Pap “B-Bell talk to me?!” said Rihya, her lips quivering as the broken words left her lips.

“I-I’m f-f-fine, we need to stop them.” wheezed Bell as she looked on at the plume of gas. Woosh, it dispersed.

There they stood, burning brightly, irradiating the might of the unvanquished, the Keep Knight.

Swoosh- The Knight disappeared, dashing left of their view, covered by the chucked pillar.

Bell stood to her feet, her vision gained focus, her shaking subsided. Rihya’s gaze drifts to the left as the footsteps approach like a speeding train.

“Bell, get behind me now.” Said Rihya, keeping her eyes trained on the sound. Wa-TAHSK. The hawser rope snaps to the top of a pillar, wrapping around it. The knight must’ve sprinted several dozen yards in just a few seconds, the footsteps stop.

Hm?- Bell thought sharply “Ap!-” TONK-CRASH! The knight swinging by the rope snaps a spinning back kick to Rihya’s chest, sending her flying up into a pillar, crumbling the top of it. The knight lands on their feet and begins charging Bell, the rope trailing behind them. Not good- Clingk! Bell’s thought is cut by the knight’s clash. They exchange, the knight swings at her kidney, Swoosh-Clink Bell blocks with the shield. Swoosh, she dodges a strike from the knight.

Swoosh-Tink, Crumble. Bell swings her bo, it’s caught in the blind hole of the knight’s weapon as it’s smashed into the ground.

Tingk! “Ahh!-” The knight stretches their leg up, kicking Bell in the Temple, wobbling her stance. Puh,. Swoosh- The knight grabbed Bell’s calf, squeezing it between their bicep and their mess of forearm. Bell is violently swung overhead in a blur.

Swoosh-SMASH!-crumble! The knight slammed her hard deep into the pavement, sending a shockwave. Auc! The knight mounts Bell as she coughs blood on their face, raising their weapon above her chest, pointing it to the floor. Tonk! Rihya throws her bo from above, smacking the knight in the back of the head. Wu-DONG! Bell swats the knight off, bashing them with the face of her shield. Skrr-skrr-skrrshhh-. The knight’s sent tumbling across the floor.

Wa-TASH! They whip the rope, swinging it around the top of a pillar, yanking themselves into the air.

Pap Thud. “We need to get out of here!” Rihya shouted as she jumped down from the crater and rushed to Bell, who laid in a hole in the floor. Rihya grabs Bell, lifting her slightly by her back.

“Are you ok, speak to me?!” Rihya asked frantically through her quivering lips, her eyes darting across Bell's body as blood started to leak from slits in the plates of Bell’s upper armor.

“I-I don’t t-think I can walk, s-something’s broken.” Bell quivered weakly, her body twitching.

“No… no, no-no-no-” Rihya stammered. TONGK! The knight rams her foot to the side of Rihya’s skull, sending her flying as she drops her shield.

Wa-TASH The knight throws the rope around, Swoosh, Taph. It wraps around Rihya’s throat and a pillar behind her as it comes back to the knight's hand.

Woosh BOOM! The knight leaps forward, bursting forth with extreme speed, “AHH!-” yanking Rihya up into the air by her throat. THUD! She’s pinned by her neck against a pillar. Huff. Huff. Huff. The knight pants leaning forward.

Shatter. The words play again as they pull hard.

AUucgc-Ughgh- eegg- The rope tightens around Rihya’s neck.

My bo... Thought Rihya as she looked at it on the floor below.

SHATTER. Rihya flails against the pillar desperately pulling on the rope. Her gaze drifting to Bell. “Ugghh ugg” Bell shakes, attempting to sit up.

“B-Bell p-please, r-run-” She gasps weakly, as tears run down her cheeks.

SHATTER. Huff huff Grnnndd-. The knight pulls harder, heaving the rope.

Crack-chrip! Rihya’s Hyoid breaks.

Ahhhgc-gegrrg hhgggh. Her vision fades, she reaches out to Bell.

SHATTER! The words play in the knight’s mind along with their memories of the man. They heave harder.

“P-please.” Said Rihya weakly, her words fading as her body grew limp…

She stops flailing. THUD-Clank! Her body is dropped to the floor from the pillar.

Drip, Drip, Huff huff huff. The knight stops dropping to their knees and hand, blood still dripping from the mangled stub. They look behind them at Bell.

Uggh, ugghh. “R-Rihya!” Bell calls out, struggling to speak.

Pap. Pap. The knight stands to their feet. They walk over to Bell.

Woosh tongk! The knight rips the shield from Bell’s hand.

Pap, puh. The knight straddles Bell’s chest, sitting in the dent in her cuirass, and raises their weapon as Bell turns to face them. It’s quiet for a moment, the air hangs still, Bell’s lips crack open as she prepares to speak, the knight waits.

“P-please d-don’t kill that gentle little one, we’ll never find them again if you do..” Said Bell, the words quivering from her lips as she thought of Rihya.

Woo-tingk!-squlech, “A-ah-haaa…. Please…” Bell muttered quietly as the knight plunged the weapon through her cuirass into her chest.

Her last words.